Steans Center
Irwin W.
for Community-based Service Learning & Community Service Studies
Making a Difference: Building Healthcare
Partnerships in Back of the Yards
By Dan Baron
Late one afternoon in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the
city’s southwest side, young men and women access the kind of health
service that may seem routine, but in reality can be tough to find in
this low-income neighborhood.
They have just walked into a conference room at Second Chance
Alternative School, where they receive services from a clinic that
counsels, educates and tests them for three different sexually
transmitted infections. The students – who range in age from about
14 to 17 – receive these services through an innovative effort that
results from a partnership between DePaul’s graduate nursing
program and many people and organizations in the community. The
specific aim of the project is to develop a culturally sensitive sexually
transmitted infection (STI) prevention program for Hispanic young
adults.
The project resulted from the combined efforts – and synergy – of
many partners, including the Howard Brown Health Center, Alivio
Medical Center, San Miguel School and Holy Cross Parish Nursing.
Spring 2007
ENGA GE PARTN ER REFLECT
Howard Brown provided training and educational materials for Alivio
Medical Center nurses and DePaul nursing students; Alivio arranged
for staff nurses to conduct STI screening services, and will also provide
for follow-up testing, treatment and counseling as needed. San
Miguel School and Holy Cross Parish Nursing recruit for the screenings.
The screenings have been offered since last November. Later,
screenings were moved from a local food pantry to the school, where
participants in the project felt they would be better able to reach the
targeted audience of young adults. Results of the tests are completely
confidential.
The project emphasized the importance of using community resources
and assets to provide a key service. “So many times with community
health, we talk about problems, but here there are a lot of strengths
– resources in a community that exist to help address specific
concerns,” says Dr. Susan Poslusny, Chair of the Department of
Nursing. “What students gain is a view of the community that is
resource-focused, not problem-focused. The idea is to promote
prevention by getting people to adopt healthy behaviors.”
“This project also makes great sense for nursing students,” she adds,
“because in nursing, service learning is a core part of the education.
That is how you learn and practice.”
Origins of project
A few years ago, the Department of Nursing was looking for sites to
place nursing students who focused on community health. At about
the same time, Steans was building connections in the neighborhood,
and DePaul students were tutoring students at San Miguel School as
part of their service learning requirements. Meanwhile, a community
group, Mujeres Decididas Para Mejorar La Comunidad (Women
Committed to Improving the Neighborhood), raised issues of
community safety, community health and access to medical services.
Continued on page 4
 Catholic Schools Initiative:
Reaching Out, One Student at a Time
By Dan Baron

Every week this spring, Charlene Rhinehart returned to the

Englewood neighborhood where she lived for the first eight years of
her life. Her trips, though, were not about visiting old friends and
favorite places. They were about giving back to the community.

“This program is not just about placing students in

tutoring situations in these communities, it is about
trying to understand why these communities don’t
receive the same kinds of resources as schools in
more affluent communities.”

Rhinehart has been a tutor at Visitation School in Englewood for two
years through the Steans Center’s Catholic Schools Initiative, which is
now in its third year. Through the program, students are employed as
tutors and mentors in two K-12 urban Catholic schools on the city’s
south side, Visitation and San Miguel School, which is located in the
2 Back of the Yards community. Students typically spend 15 to 20 hours a
week at a school.
One key aspect of the program is that tutors, like Rhinehart, often
grew up near the school. Another is the consistency of the program,
since tutors come to schools at least a couple times a week for two
or three hours at a time. “We are a small school, very grassroots,
that is run solely on donations,” says Emily Vogel, Director of
Graduate Support at San Miguel School. “This program is a really
good way to supplement the fact that we don’t have a lot of staff.
Since tutors are here so regularly, the kids know them well. That
relationship has been key, and the tutors embody what we are
trying to do.”

The program is in the process of being expanded from two schools to

four later this year—and will be expanded even further to six schools
in the 2007-2008 school year. Through this program, DePaul—a
Catholic, Vincentian urban university—can support Catholic schools
serving kids from low-income families. As the program expands, Steans
will also be in a position to connect more service learning
opportunities to Catholic school partners.

Rhinehart, a sophomore in accounting, says the reason she applied

is because “I understand what it’s like to grow up in a low-income
community. Having someone there to guide you can make a difference
in your life.” In the future, Rhinehart says she would like
to connect her current field of study with community involvement –
perhaps by teaching people about financial literacy (Rhinehart is also
minoring in Community Service Studies).
On a typical day, she says, she will tutor a student for about 45 minutes
in math, reading and spelling. She will work with two or three kids—
all are from the second, third and fourth grades—in the course of an
afternoon. Two other DePaul students from the CSI program have also
tutored students at Visitation this year.
Tutors like Rhinehart provide one-on-one and small group assistance
that can be hard to find. “My goal is to make learning fun for them,
find creative and innovative ways to teach children through spelling
bees, math competitions, and other activities. One of the goals is to
close the educational gap between low-income and wealthier
communities.”
CSI students are also required to enroll in CSS 101 (Catholic Social
Teaching Reflection), a course that provides context for their
experience in the schools and a chance to reflect on what they are
learning. The class encourages students to consider social problems
from a broader perspective and analyze the roots of complex issues.
“The class gives me a big picture,” says Victoria Lopez, an education
major at DePaul who tutors at San Miguel School through the CSI
program. “The community gives me a personal experience.”
“This program is not just about placing students in tutoring
situations in these communities, it is about trying to understand why
these communities don’t receive the same kinds of resources as
schools in more affluent communities,” adds Pauline Villapando,
who teaches the course, and is the house coordinator for Vincent
and Louis House, an intentional Catholic residential community.
 The CSS class is held twice a month, for two hours, and counts toward a
student’s Community Service Studies minor. Villapando said that the class
is based on Catholic Social Teaching principles. “You can apply them
regardless of your religion,” she says. “They are rooted in human dignity
and tied to the idea that we all deserve certain rights.”
During the quarter, students will review case studies about creating
safer neighborhoods, affordable housing and other important issues.
“Reflection is a key aspect of this class,” Villapando adds. “We are
interested in how one becomes more aware about these communities
and issues. We don’t want to see the poor as ‘the other,’ but work with
them on the journey together.”
“The idea,” says Villapando, “is that these things are possible.”
3 For Charlene Rhinehart, the program has shown her that a lot is possible –
for students she tutors as well as herself. “The kids look up to me as a role
model,” Rhinehart says. “They appreciate what we are doing, and when
they see me, they say they want to go to college too. That motivates me
to want to keep achieving.” S
Art in the School:
DePaul Class Creates Mural with Grade School Students
Visitation School has also been the site
of another Steans-related project in the
last year – a project that brought
students to Visitation to create a mural
celebrating the school’s community.
“Students executed a mural with input
from the school,” says Brother Mark
Elder, who taught the ART 291 class
last year that created the mural. “The
idea they came up with was a tree based
on the architectural elements they saw
in the school. Every aspect of the tree
featured logos that reflected the school
and its scholarship programs, sports
and commitment to education.”
DePaul students worked on the mural for six hours a week during
Spring Quarter of last year. “We worked closely with students in the
school and talked to them about what they wanted to see,” Elder
says. “When you do that, you give people a chance to own the piece
in their hearts.”
Merida: The Service Learner’s Study
Abroad Choice
This year the Steans Center and Study Abroad launched a
service learning component in the Winter Quarter Merida,
Mexico program through offering CSS 201: Perspectives
on Community Service - Merida. Through this course
students had the opportunity to do service in the
community of Emiliano Zapata Sur II, an impoverished
community in Merida. Their service was facilitated
through a partnership with the Marist University whose
mission and dedication to service learning mirrors DePaul’s.
Students had the opportunity to work with a community
garden and nursery, at a community center, and with
families living in Emiliano Zapata Sur. Their goal was to
understand the effects of globalization and to see how it
manifests itself within communities. In addition to the
winter service learning program, two students remained
during the spring service learning extension, now in its
third year. The extension allows students the opportunity to
extend their stay in Merida through an internship and
enrollment in CSS 395: Community Internship. This Study
Abroad program offers students the opportunity to
complete two of the foundation courses in the Community
Service Studies minor and the possibility of acquiring an
elective within the minor. “With the potential to finish half
of the six course minor, this program is designed to be the
service learner’s Study Abroad Choice.” S
Congratulations to the following Community Service
Scholars on their 2007 graduation:
Selena Arana Lauren Moes
Michael Bader Maria Torres
Bozena Bjegovic Kara Wanderlich
Eira Corral Shelly Wilson
Molly Medhurst
“It was a good experience to see the positive aspects of this
community,” says Kate Jadwin, a senior majoring in literature
who took the class last year. “Through the class, students were
exposed to a different community instead of making snap
judgments about it.”
Continued from cover

Making a Difference: Building Partnerships in Back of the Yards

DePaul nursing faculty and students participated in a health fair
at San Miguel School, and eventually they conducted a health
assessment of the community. After STI was identified as a key issue,
faculty and students developed education materials and made
presentations to students and community members.
Research supports need for project
“The STI rate has been declining in Chicago, but increasing by
two to three times in this community,” says Dr. Young-Me Lee, an
assistant professor in the Department of Nursing who is leading the
nursing department’s work in this project. “Many people don’t
have health insurance, or face language barriers, or don’t have
information about STI.” Research by Dr. Lee and her team showed
that there was “high incidence of STI’s in the Back of the Yards
community, especially for women as a result of a knowledge deficit
of safer sex practices, symptoms recognition and ability to inform
partners.” More than one of three people in the community are
living below the poverty line, research showed, and STI rates are
considerably higher in the community than in the general
population.
The following year, Dr. Lee asked a group of nursing students to
design an intervention program that focused in part on these issues.
Potential of program
The Department of Nursing’s experience in the Back of the
Yards community is also serving as a model for its work in other
underserved communities, says Dr. Poslusny. In the North Lawndale
community, the Department of Nursing has been collaborating with
four schools to provide a range of health-related services, including
physicals and health education. “Our long-term goal here, as in Back
of the Yards, is to develop a partnership so that we can maintain a
continuing presence in communities and provide service learning
opportunities for students,” she says. “That will include individual
and group reflection.” The model is also being shared with other
schools at DePaul, suggesting that it can work for those offering
education, social work and other services.
“Our long-term goal here, as in Back of the
Yards, is to develop a partnership so that
we can maintain a continuing presence in
communities and provide service learning
opportunities for students.”

Building a partnership
Although some may point out ways that STI workshops could be Meanwhile, partners in the STI program also say it could be
controversial, nursing students – and all partners in this project – replicated elsewhere in Chicago – and perhaps around the country.
were focused on the same goals. The focus was on preventing STIs by Maria Mendez, parish nurse for Holy Cross Hospital, has provided
identifying the problem early, educating people and getting them screening services at the STI screenings. “I think this is a very valuable
treated. program that would benefit many other communities,” adds
Mendez. “In the Back of the Yards community, many parents and
To make that happen, partners in this project agree, a wide range older people don’t have information about these issues – so how are
of people and organizations focused on community health worked they going to be able to talk to children about them?”
together. “No one organization owns this screening,” says Mike
Anderer-McClelland, Principal & Campus Director, San Miguel School,
Back of the Yards. “Everybody feels like it’s theirs. The Steans Center
has not just been working with one organization,
but has been able to work with several organizations. Steans has
managed to get to know all of us.”

“For this project, credit is not as important as providing services to an

underserved community,” adds Paco Zamora, Technical Assistance
and Capacity Development Coordinator for Howard Brown
Community Services.

Reaching the community

At Second Chance School, students who walk into the STI screening
room go through three stations – intake, counseling and, finally,
screening. Elizabeth Florez, a graduate of the nursing program who
still volunteers at STI screenings, was involved in creating surveys and
assessment worksheets that have been part of this effort. “As a
nurse, you are always going to be educating people, and this project
definitely brings you closer to the community. Once I leave the site of Though STIs have been controlled in many communities, there are
the screening, I feel so happy that I was able to help other people. If still 19 million new cases every year, according to the Centers for
I just went to a job, or to school, I don’t know if it would be as Disease Control. About half of those cases involve young adults
fulfilling.” between the ages of 15 and 24. The prevalence of the problem, and
promise of the partnership in the Back of the Yards community,
Meanwhile, Sharon Dopak, who is completing her nursing degree suggests that this kind of partnership could make an impact in other
this spring, says that participating in this project has fulfilled her communities that need similar services. “This experience has really
hope to gain more experience in a community-based setting. “I really taught us the importance of community partnerships,” says Dr. Lee.
enjoy helping people when they are in situations where they don’t “We believe this effort could be a model for future projects.” S
have resources or information about where to go,” she says. “I’ve
also learned through this project that organization – and constant
follow-up – are key when making partnerships work.”

http://cbsl.depaul.edu
 Steans Center
Irwin W.
Letter from the Executive Director

Healthcare and Education Access: The Role of Mission Statement

Service Learning The Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning
provides educational opportunities grounded in Vincentian
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 45 million community values to DePaul students. The Center seeks to
people live without health insurance in the U.S. and develop mutually beneficial, reciprocal relationships with
a recent report showed that about 1.8 million of community organizations in order to develop a sense of
them live in Illinois. At the same time, graduation social agency in our students through enrollment in CbSL
courses, community internships and placements, and
rates at Chicago Public Schools illustrate that
community-based student employment.
students have a little over 50% chance of earning
a high school diploma. These numbers remain
astounding to some, but are simply the reality for
many residents of Chicago. At the Steans Center, we continuously ask
ourselves: what is our role in addressing these crises?; how can connecting
students from DePaul courses to health- and education-related organizations
contribute to any type of real social change?; and given DePaul’s educational
mission, what can DePaul students learn about concepts, theories, and
methods from engaging in community projects that seek to address inequities
in access to health and education?

Depending on how one looks at the problems, the answers to the above
questions can be either troubling or invigorating. On the troubling side, we Steans Center Staff
know that even the 2,700 DePaul students that engaged in academically-
based service learning during this academic year can only have a minimal Ruben Alvarez
rsilvaal@ depaul.edu
impact (if that) on addressing issues such as the healthcare and education Community Development, Program Coordinator
access dilemmas faced by many Chicagoans. In reality, the predicament of Chris Brown
these residents is (or perhaps should be) in the hands of public policy makers rbrown27@depaul.edu
who can, at minimum, take the lead in fashioning a response. On the North Lawndale Initiative, Program Coordinator
invigorating side, we know that DePaul students are working alongside Billie Drakeford
community organizations and schools that can’t afford to wait for legislative bdrakefo@depaul.edu
Student Development Coordinator
decisions and have to act now to find ways to make sure that the sick are
Missy Frazin
healed and the young receive a quality education. This type of engagement is mfrazin@depaul.edu
indeed a fundamental part of DePaul’s Vincentian mission. Jumpstart Site Manager
Allison Tyndall Locke
5 Through projects like the ones outlined in this quarter’s newsletter, DePaul alocke5@depaul.edu
students are living DePaul’s mission. They are not only learning about the Academic Development, Program Coordinator
ways that communities are addressing the need for good healthcare and Mona Martinez
mmartinez@depaul.edu
education, but they are learning about how scholars apply theory to practice Assistant Jumpstart Site Manager
in the creation of new and applied knowledge. The work of DePaul’s
Norlin Monzon
Nursing department shows that the interests of community health nmonzon@depaul.edu
organizations fit well with the interest of educating graduate-level nursing Web Developer
students on ways to participate in addressing the vast challenges of Marisol Morales
healthcare in Chicago neighborhoods like Back of the Yards and North mmorale1@depaul.edu
Associate Director
Lawndale. Likewise, the efforts of students involved in the Steans Center’s
Catholic Schools Initiative, a program with a curricular link to Catholic Anne Rapp
arapp@depaul.edu
Social Teaching, demonstrates how Catholic universities can increase the Assistant Director, Academic Development
probability that Catholic middle and high school students can have the
Howard Rosing
option to attend college. The initiative also provides a community context hrosing@depaul.edu
for applying theories and concepts drawn from Catholic Social Teaching Executive Director
learned in the classroom. Melanie Sillas
msillas@depaul.edu
Catholic Schools Initiative Coordinator
As we continue to build a national model of Vincentian service learning, we
may be fruitless in expecting to resolve the big challenges of ensuring that all Barbara Smith
bsmith@depaul.edu
residents of Chicago have access to a decent education and to healthcare Business Manager
services. Perhaps the more invigorating way to look at the goals of our work Faculty Partners
is to continue to find ways for DePaul students to participate in the present-
Theodoric (Ted) Manley
day struggles of those without access to these resources, while at the same Director, Black Metropolis Project
time producing graduates who, through applying theory in the community, Associate Professor, Sociology
have learned to become public and private sector leaders in the efforts for Alexandra (Lexa) Murphy
larger systemic change. Director, Community Service Studies
Associate Professor, Communication
Howard Rosing
Executive Director
DePaul University Steans Center
2233 North Kenmore Ave. Suite 840
Website: Chicago, IL 60614-3547 55 East Jackson Blvd.
(312) 362-5170
http://cbsl.depaul.edu (773) 325-7457
(773) 325-7459 Fax (312) 362-7525 Fax
Budapest, Hungary:
Expanding our International
Service Learning program
to Europe
In conjunction with Study Abroad and
through the initiation of Professor Richard
Farkas, in Political Science, the Steans
Center has introduced a service learning
component to the Budapest Summer Study
Abroad program. This program allows
DePaul students the opportunity
to engage in service learning with DIA
(Foundation for Democratic Youth), a
public benefit non-profit organization
which believes that democratic values
and related attitudes can be acquired
by experience. DIA develops democratic
citizenship skills in young people (14-25)
by using service learning methodology and
strives to embed this approach in the
education and youth structure of Hungary
and the region. In collaboration with
Study Abroad, the Steans Center provides
the opportunity for students to engage
in social justice-oriented, mission-based,
academically-relevant service learning
in international settings.
For more information on our international
service learning programs please contact
Marisol Morales at mmorale1@depaul.edu
Steans Center
2233 North Kenmore Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614-3547
McCormick Tribune Community Internships
The Steans Center congratulates this year's McCormick Tribune Community Interns. Through a
generous gift from the McCormick Tribune Foundation the Center provides funding for DePaul
undergraduates to participate in advanced internships in community-based organizations
throughout Chicago. The interns are accepted through a competitive application process which
evaluates the students' prior community engagement experiences and the capacity of their
proposed internship to support the application of knowledge and skills for the benefit of a
community organization. The interns are our best and brightest DePaul undergraduates who
have exhibited a commitment to community action, service and academic excellence from all
disciplines and departments at DePaul.
Eira Corral
Eira worked with both the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute and the Centro de
Información in order to analyze community development within the emerging suburban
Latino community of Hanover Park, IL.
Mollie Haley
Mollie worked with the Women and Girls Collective Action Network to assist with a
documentation project and a series of meetings with social activist and advocacy groups involved
in community organizing and community accountability work in Chicago.
Phillip Jones
Phillip worked with the Pilsen Alliance to study the effects of gentrification on the residents
of Pilsen, to learn about and participate in community organizing actions, and to work on
summarizing literature that will be translated to Spanish as a means to educate and empower
Pilsen residents.
Selene Arana
Selene worked with the staff of Casa Catalina Food Pantry in her own community of Back of
the Yards to develop mental health workshops and information material for local residents.
Usra Ghazi
Usra worked with the Interfaith Youth Core on various small projects and long-term assignments
such as IFYC's Chicago Youth Council and the Global Youth Exchange, an international initiative
funded with the support of Queen Rania of Jordan and former President Bill Clinton.
Ellen Miller
Through a collaborative project between the Steans Center and DePaul's Asylum/Immigration
Legal Clinic, Ellen worked at World Relief where she assisted clients in completing immigration
applications including translating official documents and conducting legal research.
Shannon Harmon
Shannon coordinated an Art Club at Visitation Catholic School twice per week. She established
a curriculum that exposed students to various art media and history through projects and
presentations.